Geografie 1969, 74, 1-14

https://doi.org/10.37040/geografie1969074010001

Tidal-Undulatory Movements of the Earth's Surface

Ludvík Loyda

Výzkumný ústav geodetický, kartografický a topografický, Dražického nám. 7, Praha 1 - Malá Strana, Czechia

The development of science is always followed by a differentiation of problems and tasks as well as by the origin of specialized scientific branches which are becoming separated from one another by more and more distinct limits. Thus specification makes it difficult to study most general natural phenomena e. g. the character of tectonic movements and their causes, thus not permitting a study of this problem from a wide and general point of view. The relatively best conditions for study and assessment of these basic questions and problems which cannot be solved within the range of any of the specialized branches, have been retained by general geography only. Isostasy, contraction various subcrustal flows, and other hypotheses mainly of a speculative origin have been unable heretofore to explain the oscillatory movement of the earth's surface which was recently proved by geodetic measurements. Oscillatory movements of water level in wells and artesian boreholes demonstrated quite distinctly the existence of short - timed tidal waves, mostly of solar and lunar origin circulating periodically in the earth's crust. The differences of the data obtained by repeated levellings were explained for a long time as caused in individual cases by inexact measurements or by local factors (subsidence of soil, water and oil pumping, etc.) but in larger areas only by those speculative, conceptions mentioned above. The accuracy, of geodetic measurements, however, was veryfied by means of limmological data obtained from exact measurements on many Finnish lakes (Fig. 1, 2). The earth's crust does not bend elastically in the course of undulatory tidal movements but brakes up into blocks which move individually and often in different ways. The common conception of arching seems unsuitable (Fig. 4) because it does not take into account the tidal waves advancement accompanied by mutual blocks tilting and therefore even by the wedge-shaped opening and closing of the cracks or faults between them (Fig. 5). The circulating movement of tidal waves can either be paralell (Fig. 6) or perpendicular (Fig. 7) to the direction of the fault zone. In both cases the upward and downward movement as well as continuous closing and opening of the cracks, without exceptions accompanying the blocks tilting and also vertical and horizontal shifting of geodetic points on the earth's surface, have to take place. We must distinguish: in the case of Fig. 6 the neighbouring block fall and lift at the same time whereas in accordance with Fig. 7 they have to move successively. The resulting position of blocks may be the same as it was before the wave had passed. The cracks closing, as well as the blocks tilting, resulting from tidal undulatory movements of the earth's crust have been confirmed by precise levelling and triangulation repeated in the oilbearing area of Buena Vista Hills, California (Fig. 8, 9). The closing of blocks on the San Andreas fault line had evidently caused pressure to rise and the migration of oil to the areas where during this undulatory movement of the earth's crust the strain was diminished.